Sudbury Star Op-Ed
There are a lot of issues to consider in this election, but just one question: who do you trust to have your back?
Things are tough right now. People here in Sudbury can’t make ends meet, can’t find an affordable home or a family doctor, and they’re worried that things will get worse before they get better.
That’s why Sudbury needs a strong, progressive voice in Ottawa to stand up for us instead of millionaires. The Liberals won’t do it, and neither will the Conservatives - they’re too busy making their rich friends richer. But the NDP will.
Over and over, the NDP has proven that it will protect workers and northern communities like ours. We forced the Liberals to pass the largest expansion of universal health care in our lifetimes. We tabled a northern platform that offers solutions to the issues that matter most to Sudburians: health care, housing, and cost of living. We’ll fight to make this country work for everyone because that’s what we always do.
Our plan will strengthen northern communities like Sudbury. First, we’ll use retaliatory tariffs to bolster EI so it actually supports the resource workers being hurt by Trump’s trade war - we’ll raise the maximum insurable earnings, increase the benefit rate, reduce the qualifying threshold, cover contractors and self-employed workers, and extend coverage to 50 weeks.
We’ll also make sure that the north gets the infrastructure it needs - that includes making the TransCanada Highway, which connects so many of us to family, friends, and business in the south, safer.
Next, we’ll introduce national rent control so no one can gouge you. We'll ban corporations from buying up affordable homes, build rent-controlled units on public land, and make corporate landlords like Carney’s Brookfield offer more geared-to-income housing - because they’ll never do it by themselves.
Finally, we’ll improve health care in the north. Too many Sudburians don’t have a primary care provider, so we'll invest in regional medical schools and recruit more doctors to northern communities so you have health care you can rely on. We'll make prescriptions free and invest in health care infrastructure in Indigenous communities. And we'll strengthen the Canada Health Act so that Poiliever can’t bankrupt you with the American-style health care he wants so badly.
That’s what the NDP stands for - strong, resilient communities with the resources, services, and support they need to weather hard times and turn adversity into strength.
We know what the other parties stand for, too - they’ve shown us. The Liberals won't prioritize Northern Ontario unless the NDP is there to force them. And the Conservatives will gut our economy and services unless the NDP is there to stop them.
We’ll make sure that workers, and Northern Ontario, aren’t forgotten in this challenging new reality because we know how easy it is for communities like Sudbury to get shortchanged by the Liberals and the Conservatives. Now, more than ever, we need a voice at the table - one that will fight for you instead of millionaires.
That’s why the NDP is best for Sudbury.
This isn’t a normal election - it’s about our sovereignty, our identity, and our values. It’s an opportunity to set Canada on a new path that isn’t dictated by the ultra-rich. We can reclaim our future and rebuild our country so that it works for everyone.
I’m ready - are you?
